the great escape.The Circle has quite a lot on their plate, this time around. Multiple players are fighting for the control of Akvos, and many difficult choices to make. No matter what path you choose, though, one thing is for certain: it is a bitter fight to the death to ensure that Akvos remains standing, one way or another. There are three main areas for the characters to explore in the final log of Akvos: (1) The Kingdom of Akvos, where the King is fighting to seize control; (2) The Rift, where the characters will encounter the Dreamscapes; and (3) The Kingdom of Polankos, which is where King Ka'pouli has reigned since his arrival in the pocket dimension. Decisions made in all there areas will affect the outcome of Akvos, so get to exploring.  THE ASSAULT ON WAHINE.The King’s forces will attack in three different fronts. There will be mermen attacking from above, riding saddled giant seahorses and manta rays, launching spears at the mermaid-warriors below with terrifying precision. They seem to be indiscriminate, in their aim -- the weaponry, charged with the same dark energy that the shadow creatures seem to be made out of, find their target in civilians and warriors alike, raining down a sea of terror upon the central stronghold of the Kingdom of Akvos.
The mermen will also be attacking at the ground-level, attempting to burst their way through the Palace Gates to flood the city with numbers. While the mermaids outnumber the mermen, the mermen are certainly more brutal than the mermaids. Some of them, though, in finding the city, are more concerned with looting it than with senselessly murdering everyone inside. Indeed, this is the most food they have seen in a long time -- and markets are destroyed in grabbing as much food and riches as they can, pressing closer to the Palace, and toward the Queen's stronghold.
And, finally, they will be attacking from below, navigating their way through a network of tunnels meant to transport goods and bursting their way into people’s homes, to sneak their way closer to their ultimate goal, which seems to be the Palace itself.
The Circle's main goal, here, is to protect civilians, usher theminto the underground strongholds beneath the Palace, and fight for their own lives should they attack the mermen first. Man the wall, if you so choose, to attempt to block the air attacks from the mantas. Fight on the ground, to protect Akvos from destruction. Or make your way to the underground strongholds and tunnels, to block access to the Palace. All of these will certainly assist in keeping Akvos safe.
In addition, please remember that shadow creatures (which can only be killed by magical means) are still making their way through the entirety of Akvos. While King Ka'pouli's forces are targeting the Palace of Wahine, the shadow creatures are still present everywhere. Get to killing!  INTO THE RIFT.Some of you, however, have elected to traverse into the mysterious rift that appeared in the midst of the Fields of Akvosia. It looks like a black hole into nothingness, crackling with odd energy . . . and passing through it feels as though you have stepped through an icy waterfall. For a moment, you cannot breathe -- and then, you are treated to beauty.
The gaps between time and space are full of sparkling lights, bolts of rainbow starlight winding around you as you move through the uncertainty that is the void. It seems endless, but something inside you is tugging you forward . . . and, suddenly, there is a soft voice in your ear. A familiar one, to those who reside within the Circle . . . the confused voice of Astoria.
 "Hello? My Travelers? How are you within the Void?" The Void? That word hadn't been used to describe whatever this magical place is before, but . . . well, a witch with the ability to send you all across the universe probably knows what she's talking about, right? "That should not be possible . . . who opened this doorway?"
You can tell her, or you can not. It seems to matter not, because: "Is this not getting through? Why can I not hear you . . . but I can feel you, I can -- please, if you can hear this, be careful. The Void is not something for mortals to interact with, and it can show you terrible things -- terrible things, so please--"
And, right before you have the opportunity to respond to our benevolent witch (or captor, depending on your point of view), you see a bizarre glass-like surface in front of you. It looks like a mirror, and you see a perfect reflection of yourself. It is absolutely captivating, and it beckons you . . . almost urging you to touch it. And Astoria's whisper grows a bit louder, more urgent:
"My dear Traveler, be careful what you encounter here -- can you hear me? Can you see me? I am trying to get you out of there, to bring you back home--Akvos is--"
But it is too late.
Your fingers graze the edge of the mirror, and you are pulled -- a sensation that is familiar to you, the same pull in your stomach that you feel whenever Astoria thrusts you across the universe, into new realities. And, when you blink your eyes again, and look around . . . you are no longer in Akvos, or the Void. You are somewhere entirely new.
Welcome to the Dreamscape.  THE KINGDOM OF POLANKOS.Once the Circle emerges from the Rift and the Dreamscape, they will stumble into another world . . . but this one's wateris shallow, in comparison to the massive depths of the crystal-clear kingdom of Akvos. You can quite clearly see the surface, here, and there are shallows that allow you to come up onto islands, tropical in nature with fruit, odd creatures that appear to be multiple-headed monkeys and parrots, and sandy shores. It's a bit jarring to see, after spending so long underwater. Indeed, you emerge to trudge onto land, and look around, somewhat mystified that the deep-dwelling mermen would be from a place like this.
However, exploring the islands (which is not very difficult to do, as they are all small and will not take very much time) will yield the discovery that on the islands themselves are tunnels -- underwater caverns that thread through the islands to much deeper water. It's almost as if the islands themselves are barriers to the underwater caverns below -- shallow water, a layer of land, and then a (mer)man-made bubble of water below the barrier of land. And that whoever lived on these islands tunneled through them to find deeper water. Princess Kea, (who will attend on these journeys, while remaining in the water), will tell the Circle members that King Ka'pouli told her that when the mermen were cast out, they landed on solid land, and had to slowly dig deeper to their salvation.
Navigating through these tunnels will be somewhat perilous -- and the Circle members will need to carry Princess Kea to the nearest tunnel to get her into some water, because while she can breathe on the surface for a certain period of time, she cannot navigate the land as quickly as you people with legs. Additionally, underwater caving isn't exactly a blast, but the deeper you go, the more clues of civilization you can find. And, eventually, once you go deep enough, you emerge into a massive underwater cavern to find the small Kingdom of Polankos.
In comparison to the Kingdom of Akvos, Polankos is witheringly depressing. It is not brightly colored, nor open -- indeed, it is tiny, with mermen huddled together waiting patiently for the forces that went through the rift to return. There is not a lot to find here, save for some interesting weapons that possess a dark energy, versus a lightning energy -- and those weapons will be given to the Circle members who ask for them, because those who wield them are in no condition to fight. There is little food, little room to sleep, and these are a people clearly in need of assistance.
In order to get them out of Polankos, you will need to usher them through the tunnels back up to the Rift above -- it seems that King Ka'pouli opened the Rift on the surface, rather than risk the city below in case it did not work. The mermen there (who seem to be elderly and weak) will be eager for the assistance to get out Polankos, and at the promise of being brought into Akvos, they will happily go. There will be no resistance from them.
You may also see Princess Kea, who has filtered in and out of the Rift to assist on the journey -- teary-eyed, heartbroken at the sight of these individuals who require rescue, organizing the mermen with the promise of keeping them safe in Akvos.
"Hurry," she tells you, as she rouses another merman into getting to the nearest tunnel. "We do not have a lot of time to pull this off, and we must work quickly." Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These areas of the world are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore -- you may use as much leeway as you want in order to come up with what your character will do, especially in the Dreamscapes. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! |
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acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
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But not by much, because there's still a Vajra here.] It's called a Vajra. A swarm of them attacked the place I was living, back home.
It turned out to be a misunderstanding, but... [She trails off. She has no idea if this one is going to be hostile or not.]
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[ The buzzing of wings, too quick for the ears to otherwise decipher legibly, only grows louder. Closer.
Lucina reaches out for Sheryl's hand. ]
We should move. Can you run?
[ Are... Are you asking if Sheryl knows how, Lucina? ]
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Maybe!
Sheryl looks up and takes the proffered hand.] I'm not hurt or anything. Of course I can run.
Where to?
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Even if these vrajna aren't a threat, they're an unknown. She doesn't want to leave that to chance. ]
Now. [ About what Sheryl said -- ] "If they want to be dangerous, there wouldn't be much we can do to stop them." Please, explain.
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Still, she breathes a little more easily.
A little.] Those things-- the Vajra-- they attacked the place where I was living, back home. They're not evil, though; it wound up being a misunderstanding and we learned how to communicate with them. Which is why it might not be dangerous?
But if it is, there's nothing that could... it could probably destroy this whole city before lunchtime. Unless you've got a spare fighter jet lying around, or whatever you have that could maybe handle something that big.
[Medieval VFs?]
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No. We have trebuchets, but they are nowhere near in the correct position to be offensive. If your Vajra demon attacks, it will quickly become a war of attrition.
[ And a great many will suffer...
Or they would, if the city weren't disquietingly empty. ]
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Let's just... not provoke it. Is there anyone here who might start a fight? We need to find them and stop them before it happens.
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No. The town is long abandoned. I don't think anyone but -
[ A striking, chirpy voice carries over Lucina's, from somewhere outside. ]
Come on, guys! We have to save the villagers!
[ Her eyes widen as it sinks in. A voice she hasn't heard in months - since before she ended up in the Temple of Beginnings - but two quick sentences is all it takes for Lucina's blood to run cold with concern and apprehension. She's up in an instant, scrambling for the still open window in a rather brash flurry of movements. ]
—Cynthia?
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There's also no mistaking Lucina's reaction-- startled, worried, and clearly recognizing the voice.
Sheryl's behind her in a heartbeat.] Who's that? Are they about to do something stupid?
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[ She loves you, Cynthia. Really.
On the other hand, she's equally concerned for whoever she was talking to. Owain? Noire, Nah? A quick rush fills her, a longing - it's been so many long months since she's seen her own, her ilk - but it won't do to suddenly stick her head out the window.
Another voice, then, considerably more masculine - ]
The blood of heroes courses through me!
[ Oh no. ]
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And then there's another voice. Sheryl doesn't even have to ask for this one. Nobody says "the blood of heroes courses through me" before doing something wise.] Let me guess, a brother?
Well, what are we waiting for-- let's stop them!
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[ It's a quick, breathless correction. It doesn't make much difference beyond a semantic level - they grew up together, all three of them, the royal children, the most lost, the most expected of.
It doesn't matter, and Sheryl is correct. After helping her back out the window, Lucina rushes back into the open square, very visible by sunlight...
And no one else is there. Just the two of them. ]
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well.
She glances over her shoulder.] Invisibility run in the family, by any chance?